And then I actually saw how much better the AI's art usually was compared to theirs, and how instead of bettering themselves, they just decided to complain on twitter, and then I stopped.
many people have faced the "being replaced by technology" battle that artists are dealing with now, so i am empathetic with people watching their livelihoods crumble in front of them while other people cheer it on
the difference is that while most people are just working to make money and support their families, artists are also dealing with their egos being battered by this process. more important than losing money, AI tools are making it easy to steal the "art style" of artists, which artists see as an expression of their inner-most soul or some bullshit like that. the idea that they're not special and unique and won't be remembered for being the only who can make "their art" is causing all the screeching you see on social media
artists are also dealing with all of this coming as a complete shock. sure, it's easy to see how someone who types numbers into forms or does the same weld day after day would be replaced by machines, but since artists see themselves as so special and unique they had no idea they would be able to be replaced so quickly because technology can't replicate the care for art that they have. in some ways they're right, except the only people who care about that are other artists and this next generation of AI tools is improving. rapidly
since there are plenty of people who don't know or don't usually interact with ~artists~ this might come to a surprise when they start looking into the AI art topic, but anyone who knows any artists knows they're usually narcissistic idiots who have trouble functioning in the real world. this is also why ~current thing~ and troonism runs so rampant with artists as well
artists, furries, troons, current thing obsessers, "nuggie" enjoyers -- these groups of people are all cut from the same cloth. they're currently getting a rude awakening when it turns out you can increasingly skip past them if they're a pain in the ass and don't have rudimentary people skills